The Secret Keeper
by Little Evil Pixie
Summary: After Edward almost attacks Bella, she learns that the Cullens are vampires. She is willing to keep their secret but what choice does she really have when she has a secret of her own.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys. So this is my first fanfic ever but I'm not going to degrade it. I actually kind of love it. I hope you guys love it as much as I do and stick with me throughout "The Secret Keeper's journey.**

**Disclaimer- Twilight is not mine. If it was, let's just say it would be a different story.**

* * *

**Summary~** After Edward almost attacks Bella, she learns that the Cullen's are vampires. She is willing to keep their secret but what choice does she really have when she has a secret of her own.

* * *

**Chapter 1- Strawberries and Cream**

**Edward POV**

Another day.

Every day is just another day of existence.

What was today's date? Sometime around mid-February I'm sure. Every day was just the same as the last. Go to school, for the sake of this façade, for the sake of our kind, for the sake of the monsters that we are. After spending hours in that sad excuse for an educational environment we do whatever we want without risking exposure. I used that time learning new languages, reading, hunting, or just sitting still for the remaining hours. But there are only so many languages and books in this world and because we lack the need to sleep, there are too many hours in the day and too little to do.

For my siblings, free time meant something entirely different. It meant either hunting or other… physical activities. My parents were just about the same whenever Carlisle didn't have to work. The point was they did it together. They never had to spend a lonely moment apart. Each had their significant other. That's how it was for a very long time. Three pairs and me. I didn't mind too badly. I heard enough through the minds of females to know they weren't worth the time or effort. My family was big on showing love and I had had decades to get used to it.

"What brought all this on?" Jasper asked and I looked up to see him standing in the doorway.

"What?" I asked.

_I know he's been alone for years but why is the feeling so strong now?_

"Okay Jasper." I said annoyed. "Thank you for your concern but can you please keep your thoughts to yourself?"

"Edward what's going on?" He asked. "It's not just loneliness anymore. It's a really strong sense of sadness. Why now?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." I replied sharply.

_Sure Edward. Sure._

Sometimes, most of the time really, my gift was more of a nuisance than a blessing. Hearing everyone's thoughts wasn't exactly as great as most would think. While it helped in confrontation to know another's motive and next move, I didn't exactly want to know what Jessica Stanley was wearing to the next dance or what Mike Newton hopes to do to her after the event. And I most certainly didn't want to know what my family was thinking while they were in the privacy of their rooms.

At about six am, I was interrupted from my thoughts by a shrill squeak.

_Not enough time. Have to warn Jasper._

Alice's thoughts rushed through my mind. I didn't see her have a vision. What happened?

"Alice?" Carlisle asked as everyone made their way to the living room. I followed suit, curious to know what Alice saw that I didn't. "What's going on?"

"Someone's coming!" Alice yelled. Her pixie-sized frame had powerful vocals.

"I didn't see a vision in your mind." I told her confused.

"Well my dear brother, if you weren't so busy self-loathing you would have."

"Enough." Carlisle said. "Alice, who is coming?"

"I, ugh, I'm not sure. It's so fuzzy, flashes of some sort." Alice replied rubbing her temples. Jasper placed a hand on her shoulder, affectively calming her. "All I know is she's human."

"Human?" Rosalie spat suddenly furious. "Why? No humans come here."

"I don't know." Alice stated. "I can't really see her."

I saw the flashes Alice was talking about run through her mind. A flash of brown hair. A pair of beat up black Nikes.

"What do we do?" Esme asked.

"We have to find out why she is here and then send her on her way." Carlisle simply told his wife.

_Maybe she's coming to sell cookies._

"She's not a girl scout Emmett." I told him amused. "You don't even eat cookies."

"How do you know she's not a girl scout?"

"She'll be wearing black sneakers."

_What do girl scouts wear? I wonder if Rosalie would mind –_

"Emmett!" I growled.

"How much time do we have?" Jasper asked defusing the situation.

"Maybe three minutes." Alice replied.

"Carlisle I don't think-" Jasper began.

"It's okay Jasper." Carlisle told him. "You can wait upstairs. Do not be ashamed to know your limits."

"Thank you." Jasper said making his way up the stairs.

_Edward please come with me. School is one thing. But she's alone. Too big of a temptation. What if she's bleeding?_

I told Emmett to come with me and we made our way up the stairs to support our brother. Jasper was newest to our "vegetarian diet" as we liked to call it. No we didn't survive on vegetables; that's just disgusting. We only drank animal blood, never humans. We took our places and sure enough, just moments later, the doorbell rang.

"Why is she here?" Emmett asked. "What's she thinking?"

Silence. Nothing but silence.

Jasper looked up at me as to why I was confused. I just shook my head at him and concentrated on his thoughts as he tried to sense what she was feeling.

_Desperation._

"What do you want?" Rosalie asked opening the front door.

I couldn't see the girl's mind but I could see her through Rosalie's, partially. Rosalie's mind was focused on the girl's beat up Nikes, oversized hoodie and dirty jeans. I couldn't see her face, but heard her heartbeat pick up a bit.

_Nervous._

_What is she wearing?_

_Maybe I should take her shopping._

"Hi, um, I was wondering if you needed any odd jobs done around here. I owe my parent's some money." Beautiful voice.

_She's lying._

My head snapped up to Jasper. "She's lying?" I asked

"Don't you know?" He asked.

"Yeah Eddie you never told me what she was thinking." Emmett reminded me.

I scowled at the nickname. "That's because I can't hear what she's thinking." I replied.

"Nothing?" Carlisle asked from downstairs, too low for human ears.

"Not one word, not one picture, not a single thought." I said quite frustrated.

"What could that mean?" Esme asked.

"We'll see." Carlisle answered.

"We're not interested." Rosalie coldly answered the visitor.

"Rosalie don't be so cruel." Esme chided softly.

Since Rosalie was clearly not focused on the girl's face I tried to look through the minds of everyone downstairs to get a view on it but no one had a clear view.

"Please." The voice replied. "I can do gardening, lawn work, house cleaning."

_I should slam the door in her dirty little face._

_Hopelessness._

"I'm willing to do anything you need." She continued. "Cooking, babysitting."

_Shit._

_Poor girl doesn't know what's coming to her._

_How desperate is she to pay her parent's back that money? It can't be that bad._

_So much pain. Get her out of here._

"You should leave." Rosalie told her taking a step forward. "Right now."

One of Rosalie's grieves about this life, probably the only grief, was the inability to bear children. She was not happy at the reminder. We waited for the eruption but then things happened very fast.

A strong breeze blew into the house carrying her sent up to us. I had never smelled a human's blood so potent, so mouthwatering, and so irresistible. Not even a freshly cut human smelled as good as she did. She smelled like strawberries and cream and while I hadn't had that stuff in almost a century I wanted it. I wanted her. Now.

"No!" I heard Alice yell.

"Edward, I can't control myself if you don't stop." Jasper told me.

"What's going on?" Emmett asked him. "What's he feeling?"

"Bloodlust." Jasper told him pained. "Raging bloodlust."

In vain, I held onto the closet door, as if that would stop me from running downstairs and draining her of every last drop.

"Carlisle!" Emmett called. "Help!"

Emmett clearly didn't know who needed more restraining between Jasper and myself. Carlisle opened the door to the room and her smell became even stronger. I felt completely out of control. Control that I had spent almost a century building, down the drain.

Before either Carlisle or Emmett could get their hands on me I was running down the stairs. We were all fast but I was faster. I growled with desire. The desire a predator has for his prey. I couldn't stop myself but I underestimated a power that could. Some hidden power I had never heard of.

As I ran through the living room my prey raised her eyes and they met mine. Eyes with so much depth, so much emotion, I froze in my tracks. She was so beautiful. The burn in my throat was replaced with a burn in my dead heart.

_I won't let you hurt her Edward._

A flash of black spikes rushed past me and the girl was gone along with those brown eyes. Our facade was clearly up. We'd have to leave. But it was much too late. My entire world had shifted with one look into those eyes, into that face. I knew at that moment, no day would be the same as today.

* * *

**Well there you go. The first chapter. I am not above whoring my story out for reviews. I do so with a smile lol. Can anyone guess what Bella's secret is yet? I won't tell you if you're right it might ruin the story for you but your clues will tell me if I'm being too obvious or way too vague. I will tell you one thing though. Her secret is not just a single secret and in the next chapter we will have a BPOV and learn what those secrets are as well as what happened when Alice whisked her away at vampire speed. I'm so excited so please review and enjoy.**

**Reviews are almost better than Edward looking at you like he wants you for dessert... almost... who am I kidding?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys. Well first off I want to thank those that reviewed and those who added me to favorites and alerts. It really means a lot to me. I will explain this now; Bella's frame of mind in this chapter isn't exactly in the right place so if the chapter seems jumpy well, it's supposed to. Besides, I'm trying to get back to the present and had to squeeze a lot into this chapter. The rest will go smoothly hopefully with lots of beautiful drama! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2 ~ Confusion**

**Bella's POV**

Another day.

Another day of surviving.

My last dollar had run out a few days ago when I greedily wanted that bread roll. I should have resisted and held out just a bit longer. If Phil could see me now, he'd laugh himself to tears. The last time I saw Phil, he was throwing me out of his car on some side road in Washington State. That was in November.

We had been traveling from Phoenix to California to spend a couple days with some of Phil's family. They wanted to console him on the death of his wife, my mother, and give him a place to stay to get away from the memories. I wasn't paying much attention to the road signs; they always made the ride seem longer. I didn't notice when Phil decided to take a detour. When I finally looked up and saw a sign welcoming us to Washington I spoke up. Washington wasn't even along our way.

"Phil?" I asked. "Why are we in Washington?"

He gave me an angry glare. The same hate-filled glare he'd been throwing my way since my mom died. I barely had time to register what he was doing before the car stopped and I found myself face-planted in the dirt. My bag was thrown at me before Phil got back in the car.

"Go stay with your father you filthy slut!" He yelled before all that was left of him was his taillights and then nothing. Stay with my father? My father, Charlie Swan, was dead. He had been the police chief in Forks, Washington and died in the line of duty when I was three. Right after the funeral my mother packed our bags and moved us to Phoenix, Arizona. She told me she had always hated Forks and with my father gone, she had no purpose of staying there. My mother married Phil when I was five and never looked back.

Of course, Phil knew that my father was dead. And I completely understood what he meant. I understood what he wanted. He left me alone to die and lay with my father. That must mean I was in Forks. Yes, I had my bag with me along with maybe three changes of clothes, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and all of my hygienic items. I also had about $100 cash on me but I knew those things wouldn't last forever. And Phil knew this. He wanted me dead. He blamed me for my mother's death and in a sense, he was right.

I never should have gone to that party. I never should have worn those clothes and I never should have let that guy convince me to leave the party with him to "talk". I didn't even know his name and I had never seen him before that day. I never should have attempted to walk home alone with my clothes ripped up, hiding nothing. I never should have taken that short cut and I should have paid better attention to my surroundings. I never thought that would happen to me, shy Bella Swan just wanting to blend in. What are the odds that it did happen to me, not by one but three people? First one at the party and then two in the alley. Most of all I never should have called my mother to come pick me up. She was always there for me and she didn't even question why. I never should have woken her up at three in the morning. I should have known she wouldn't be able to concentrate on driving. If I hadn't done any of those things she would have still been alive. And when I walked into the house that morning in barely nothing but dirt streaked cheeks to find my mom gone and Phil with the angry accusing glare I was graced with the name filthy slut.

So I killed my mom and Phil wanted me dead. And maybe, more than likely, his want was justified. So when he abandoned me on that road I didn't go through the stages of grief. No I just skipped to acceptance. Sure I'd use my available resources to prolong my life just a bit but I accepted the fact that once they ran out, I'd die.

The first 48 hours I didn't sleep. I wondered through town at night when no one was out and stayed out of sight during the day as much as I could. By day three I was exhausted and if the best place to sleep was in a small alley between a diner and a sad excuse for a dress shop I'd have to take it. My first night wasn't much better than staying awake. I woke up about every ten minutes surprised I hadn't been killed off yet and was woken up that morning by the rain.

My money went on food every other day. I bought some tampons and soap as well as some more toothpaste. I was able to alternate public restrooms each day in order to brush my teeth, wash my hair if needed, wash my clothes as best as I could with body wash and for lack of a better word, sponge bathe.

After a while, I realized things weren't getting any better for me. I figured a job would help but I had no contact information to put down. No cell phone, no address, nothing. The weather was getting colder. The rain continued and I was anticipating getting pneumonia. My clothes planned on taking me from Arizona weather to California weather and nothing colder. I had a couple jeans, a couple T-shirts, a baggy hoodie I usually used to sleep, and my PJs which consisted of camisoles and matching shorts. I didn't plan on ever sleeping in cold rainy Forks in the outdoors in my Phoenix sleepwear, so I wore jeans day and night.

After some more time, everything got worse. With everything that was going on, I'm quite sure I would have noticed nothing if I hadn't decided to clean my bag out that morning. Winter had come and it had already snowed one night, I was not looking forward to another. I had decided to go through my bag to put all my warmer items on top and I came across it: the unopened box of tampons. I thought back over how long I'd been out here. I couldn't remember how long it had been but I knew I was supposed to have at least one period so far. A period that never came.

I had no other symptoms but I was not naïve. And at that point, I realized I really needed to struggle to survive. At least long enough to have this baby. If I wasn't on my feet by then I could at least give it up for adoption. It shouldn't suffer because I will. This wasn't the baby's fault. I needed a plan.

It snowed again. I wore every item of clothing that night and slept in a hollowed out tree. It was freezing when I woke up and at first I thought I had gotten frost bite in my legs but then realized they were just asleep. I didn't know whether I had a greater will to live or one to die at that point. My stomach wasn't even showing any hints of pregnancy. I didn't know whether it was because it was still early or because I obviously was lacking a healthy diet.

A couple weeks at least passed and I was still going without food for a few days at a time. I couldn't get a job because of the lack of contact information but I could probably do a couple of odd jobs. Maybe I could say I broke something expensive that belonged to my parents and needed to pay to get it fixed. Or even better, I was saving up for college. People loved teenagers that were working towards their future. But this was a small town; my mom had told me that. Everyone knew everyone. They would know that I wasn't from around there.

Some time after that I spent my last dollar on a damn bread roll, with nothing to wash it down. And then I just really wanted to die. There weren't really any other options for me. Hell, dying wasn't even an option. It was an inevitable fact and I was forced to accept it. Then, like any other crazy fool I grew impatient. I wasn't usually an impatient person but who the hell has fun waiting to die. I was an idiot to think I could stick it out for at least 9 months. So I wandered through the forest just waiting to drop dead or get attacked by wild wolves or bears.

I didn't get much sleep but I'm sure a few days had passed when I found myself at the edge of the forest line. A surge of hope rushed through me when I saw a house quite a few yards away. It was huge. They had to have money. And they weren't from town so they wouldn't know I wasn't from around there. Maybe I could shovel snow for them. Shit that would take hours but if I could even get twenty bucks off of that I'd be okay for at least two weeks.

I left my bag inside the forest and started walking. My stomach grumbled and yelled at me to run to the house but my feet wouldn't move faster than turtle speed.

"Common." I muttered to myself. "Move it."

I walked a little faster and by the time I got to the house I had to shake the snow off of me. I hadn't realized how much the trees in the forest actually helped with this weather. This was my last chance. If I couldn't find a way to make some money here I was dead. My hope quickly turned into desperation as I rang the bell.

A tall blonde opened the door. She was pretty but I wasn't exactly here to gawk at anyone's supermodel looks.

"What do you want?" She asked and the tone of her voice sent a shiver up my spine.

Stop being a punk Bella. Just get what you're here for.

"Hi, um, I was wondering if you needed any odd jobs done around here. I owe my parent's some money." Shit no, that's the wrong story. I'm supposed to be saving up for college. Well, I have always been a bad liar.

"We're not interested." She said coldly and I noticed she didn't really look at me. Just my dirty clothes. A simple no would do. But I was desperate.

Please." I replied. "I can do gardening, lawn work, house cleaning." You idiot! Who needs gardening and lawn work in the winter? I was going to die. I could feel it. There was no hope whatsoever.

"I'm willing to do anything you need." I continued although my mind was yelling at me to shut up. "Cooking, babysitting." At that her face grew extremely cold and those strange golden eyes filled with pure hatred. What the hell did I say? Was she the babysitter? If it's that important to her she can keep her damn job.

My stomach hurt from the lack of food, my feet hurt from standing out in the cold snow, even my heart hurt because I knew I was about to die. It might take a few more days but death was inevitable.

"You should leave." She said taking a step forward. "Right now."

My mind didn't register fear. I was no punk. I just felt the desperation to die. The pain was too much. Damn it was cold. As if on cue the wind picked up and almost pushed me into the doorway.

"No!" I heard a bell-like voice yell. Okay, I got it. They really didn't want me here. Where did Blondie go? More yelling inside the house.

I looked down to get a grip on myself before leaving. When I raised my eyes a God appeared out of nowhere. Time stood still and we stared at each other. Bronze hair, that's the only color that could really describe it. Black eyes, cold looking. But as we stared the black faded and melted into gold. Gold more precious than any money I could ask for. And before I could take in the beauty of this creatures face I was ripped from the doorway.

"Are you okay?" A new set of golden eyes asked me.

I looked around frantically. We were sitting near an icy stream. Did I faint? How did I get here? I looked at the speaker. Tiny. Black spiky hair. Golden eyes. Beautiful face. I recognized the bell like voice.

"Um, I think so." I said.

"Good." She said and then a look of worry marred her features. "Dammit, what have I done? How do I fix this?"

What had she done? She began pacing around mumbling to herself. She looked nervous and jittery. What the hell was wrong with her? Then she turned to me, smiled and started jumping around clapping her hands. She was a damn lunatic.

"Oh, I know, I know." She chanted. Damn spaz.

"Oh really?" I asked. "So please, enlighten me." I was passed polite. I don't even know how I got here and I was not in the mood to put up with a hyperactive, bi-polar, raging lunatic.

Her smile fell a little. "I'm Alice."

Do I tell her my name? I mean she was obviously crazy. I didn't want crazy people knowing my name. But one thing I do know about crazy people is if you don't give them what they want they get angry. Nothing's worse than an angry crazy person. I could probably take her but not the others. Just agree with them, pretend you believe whatever they are saying and give them what they want.

"I'm Bella."

"Hi Bella." She said. "I'll just explain everything to you and we'll take it from there. Everything will be fine, I just know it."

"Uh, okay sure." Just agree.

"Well as you can see I ran with you over here and you're probably wondering how I ran so fast." What would a crazy person say?

"You have like, superpowers or something like that right?" I asked.

"Something like that." She said. "You know you're making this really easy Bella."

I was actually starting to wonder what was up with her. I thought I had fainted but she said otherwise.

"Well you see I really had to get you out of there." She said. "My brother almost, well he really wanted to, um."

"Just spit it out." I told her and froze. Remember Bella. You're supposed to be nice to crazies.

"We're vampires." She said confirming her lunacy.

"Okay." I said but she seemed to catch on to my disbelief.

"Bella Swan I am being very serious!" She said.

"Sur-" I started. "Wait, I never told you my last name."

Fuck was she serious? How did she know my last name? Were they planning on killing me or sacrificing me or something crazy like that? Maybe they weren't just crazy.

"Nope." She replied. "But like I said, we're vampires and some of us have special abilities. My husband Jasper can feel other's emotions." That's not too bad.

"I can see the future but only based on certain decisions. It's really subjective. Yours is really fuzzy." Thank God. I didn't need anyone knowing anything about me. I didn't even know what my future held. I would just die if she knew my secrets.

"And my brother Edward, he's the one that ran down the stairs like a mad man."

"The one with the bronze sex hair?" I asked before I could stop myself. Alice's tinkling giggles filled the air.

"Yes him." She said. "He's a telepath."

"What?" No, this couldn't be happening.

"He can read minds."

And then I fainted.

**So what did you guys think? Like I said, jumpy. Not everyone has pregnancy symptoms such as nausea and such and some even get it later on so I didn't want to put sooo much on Bella's plate. Please review and I'll try to get the next chapter out soon.**


End file.
